If you take a look back at 2023, you’ll see a lot of change over just 12 months. Google’s algorithms and analytics evolved dramatically. Online behavior and user preferences evolved, too. AI technology rapidly took center stage, and lots of law firms rose or fell based on how willing they were to embrace all the changes.
Overall, I’d say it was a year full of seismic shifts in the ways that estate planners market and grow their practices online! And, looking ahead, 2024 promises to be another year of significant transformations.
Of course, we all know that the most successful estate planning businesses are always ready to adapt to and leverage emerging trends. And it’s been clear for years that the ability to combine traditional expertise with cutting-edge marketing and technology is the key to growth in an increasingly competitive market. That’s why you have to keep ahead of it—or work with partners that will keep ahead of it for you.
So, what comes next? What’s in store for 2024? Let’s peek into the future and dig into what we think are likely to be the five biggest digital marketing trends in the coming months.
1. Voice Search Optimization for Estate Planning Websites
Over the past few years, more and more people have started relying on voice-activated virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant to search for information online. And, while it may not be on your competitors’ radars yet, it’s a big opportunity for you.
But how do you optimize your website for voice search? There’s a lot that goes into it, but here are the basics:
- Use natural language in your website content. The more you can match your potential clients’ natural language, the types of words they search for, and the types of questions they pose in voice searches, the more likely it is that Google will put your page in front of them.
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Voice searches are mobile searches, so you want to make sure your potential clients find a website that looks and works great on their devices and is easily read aloud by voice-activated assistants.
- Improve your local SEO. Voice searchers are typically looking for local services or asking local questions, and you want to be the local business that is there with the answers they need.
Optimizing your estate planning website for voice search can go a long way toward improving your search rankings, and it offers a much more satisfying experience for prospective clients seeking estate planning services. And since the voice-search trend seems to be here to stay, we think 2024 is the year that you really need to make an effort to get on top of it.
2. Homing in on the Perfect Client Experience
Users are overall more technically savvy than ever before. They know what they want, and they know how to get it. And they have much less patience with spam, sales messages, thin content, and user experiences that aren’t perfectly tailored to their needs. That’s why hyper-personalization of the client experience is likely to be a big deal this year.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for this that will work for every estate planning business. However, there are some common starting points that will get you headed in the right direction:
- Get even more specific about the potential clients you want to attract. Some of you have already worked through a “perfect client exercise” with our team, but don’t stop at just one. If you can come up with a “perfect client” avatar for your top three areas of practice, you’ll be able to get a lot more granular and deliver marketing messages that make potential clients feel like you really understand their unique needs.
- Use list segmentation to deliver the right message to the right people. Modern technology means that you don’t have to send out the same messages to everyone on your list. Instead, you can tag your list based on demographics or interests and send tailored messages to each segment.
- Make it easy for potential clients to self-funnel on your website. When someone lands on your homepage, you want them to be able to quickly navigate to the information that is most relevant to them. Don’t make them hunt and peck to find what they’re looking for! Instead, create clear pathways that help them self-funnel to the parts of your website that are most suited to their needs.
By the way, the hyper-personalization trend doesn’t stop at the client experience. Estate planning businesses can hyper-personalize their brand image, too. Try to tell your story in a way that is accessible to your potential clients and gives them a reason to choose you over a generic competitor. You want to be the business that has a clear identity and makes people feel good about working with you.
3. Video Marketing Is Back in the Spotlight
Old trends can trend again, albeit in brand new ways. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing with video marketing in 2024. Ten years ago, adding a few videos to your estate planning website was the biggest trend. Now, video is back again, and it’s helping estate planning businesses reach even further than ever before.
And it’s no wonder that it has a big impact! Attention spans are getting shorter. Combine a short attention span with a complex and intimidating topic like estate planning and…well, you get the picture. Videos are the perfect solution because they help to humanize and simplify topics, making the ideas more approachable and understandable. You can communicate a lot in a short amount of time and use on-screen visual aids to maintain attention. Great videos also humanize you and your business, setting you up as a relatable and trustworthy authority.
Of course, in 2024, you’ll need to use your videos on more than just your website. Share them on YouTube. Use them on social media sites. Add them to your online business profiles, and use them to really communicate with your past, current, and future clients. You might even try some live-streaming events!
The bonus is that search engines increasingly prioritize video content, so using videos on your website can boost your SEO efforts, too. It’s a win-win that captures valuable attention, potentially improves your rankings, and differentiates you from the competition.
4. Taking AI Copywriting Capabilities to the Next Level
ChatGPT and other AI copywriting tools exploded onto the scene in 2023, and they don’t look like they’re slowing down in 2024. Lots of estate planning law firms are already using these tools to create website content, write emails, create social media posts, and more. And, this year, we predict that you’ll need to be even more savvy with these tools to get the stand-out results you want.
As we move forward, you can expect to see improved language models and prompt “recipes” that help you get better output from these tools. And you should also see expanded capabilities, like AI tools that can be trained specifically to your brand voice and industry or that more efficiently automate repetitive tasks.
Ultimately, it’s more about the quality of your online content than the tools used to make it. And, as basic AI content floods the online market in 2024, you’ll want to be a few confident steps ahead of the crowd.
5. Reaching “Cord Cutters” Where They Consume Media
Fewer people are watching traditional television or listening to traditional radio. Instead, most people these days have “cut the cord” and moved on to streaming services for all their media. It’s an area that bigger brands with physical products have been dominating for a few years now, but 2024 is going to be the year that everyone can benefit from getting into the game.
As this trend continues, you’re likely to see more TV ad budgets being transferred to streaming ads (sometimes called “over the top” or “OTT” advertising), where it’s easier to connect with a wide audience and tailor your ads to specific interests. It’s a bit like getting the audience of a TV ad combined with the targeting and analytics of an online ad—and that makes it a powerful way to promote your estate planning business this year.
Get Ahead of the New Year Before It Gets Ahead of You
Digital marketing and online best practices are always changing, and that’s why it’s helpful to have an expert in your corner. Whether you have big ideas for marketing your estate planning practice in 2024 or you just want to stay competitive in a changing world, Foster Web Marketing is here for you. We offer websites, SEO services, automation software, content writing, coaching, and more to make sure that you’re always positioned for the leads, profit, and growth you want.
You can learn more by requesting a complimentary marketing analysis with our team or giving us a call at 888.886.0939. Let’s make 2024 your best year yet!
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Since 1998, Foster Web Marketing has provided boutique website design and digital marketing services to lawyers, doctors, and other professionals across the U.S. and around the world. We use our in-house website design, content writing, search engine optimization, and coaching teams to strategize more effective marketing plans for our clients. We also provide powerful marketing software that supports businesses in attracting their “perfect clients” and achieving consistent success online.
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